The Brown women's open rowing team reclaimed The Class of 1987 Trophy in a season-opening showdown between a pair of Top-10 programs Saturday morning. In tough conditions on Lake Carnegie, the Brown varsity eight defeated Princeton by three seconds to earn its first win in the series since 2007.

Ninth-ranked Brown won three of the five morning races, which also included Michigan State. Reigning Ivy League champion Princeton, which was ranked fifth in the preseason poll, won the other two races and finished no lower than second in all five races.

Brown won the varsity eight race in 6:45.6, while Princeton took second in 6:48.6. Michigan State, which was unranked entering the season, placed third in 6:59.9.

Princeton leads the all-time season series 17-10.

The two boats split the other four races, with the Princeton 2V building on last season's undefeated record with a 3.3-second win over Brown. The Tigers took the win in 6:54.6, and the Princeton 3V earned a nearly eight-second win in 7:18.5.

Brown won both fours races, including a strong performance in the varsity four competition. Brown took that race in 7:46.8, while the Tigers took second in 7:58.4. The B4 competition was the closest of the day, with Brown taking the win by 2.5 seconds.

"In the 1V, Brown pounced out early," head coach Lori Dauphiny said. "Princeton pressed hard and stuck with them but was unable to make up ground. Brown did a great job. It was a good race. The Princeton 3V8 and 2V8s had solid performances and raced hard. Overall the team did a nice job and there is more to get done.

"It was good to have Michigan State there as well. They made for a better regatta."

The early-season schedule doesn't get any easier for Princeton next week; the Tigers will host reigning NCAA champion Virginia and Columbia at 10:30 am on Lake Carnegie.